Blocked drain

[237SJ]

My mum has a little drain outside on her patio that the kitchen water drains into (a small drain with a grid) It`s blocked and overflowing onto the patio.
How do I clear it? Do I have to get some sort of bendy rod to prod about? I`m trying to avoid calling anyone out at the moment because they can rip you off.

[scotman]

Pinki's suggestion is good place to start. It is washing soda that you need. If that doesn't work then you are looking at using drain rods to clear it.

[237SJ]

I don`t think I can because it is full to overflowing so the crystals won`t go down it.
thanks though

[tezestwing]

Hi i should say that it is a gully type with an in built water trap to stop air and related smells coming up from the drain,if remove the grid, then don some plastic bags onto your hand up your arms secured with laggy bands and clean this gully out, but be careful that there are no sharp things down there, about foot deep HTH Tez

[237SJ]

Thanks tez. I`ve got a drawer full of sainsbury`s carrier bags. I knew they`d come in useful. I`ll give it a try.

[tezestwing]

scotty pray tell me how you get rods round the Trap that holds all sorts of black gunge down there defo need hand protection Tez

[237SJ]

Well I`ve just tried the plastic bag trick but I can`t get my hand far enough down. It seems to go around a bend. I`ll have to get a professional out I think.

[theshedman]

You could try taking a hosepipe and pushing that around the bend using it a bit like a drain rod to see if that works. If it starts to go down a little bit you could then try turning it on and see if that clears it. I have done it before and it worked a treat.

[The Builder]

237 my friend ............ don't get anyone out yet. If you can feel the way the bottom of the trap turns up, then it sounds like the gulley is ok.......... the bung-up is further on. Can you see any inspection covers (manholes)?

[danchip]

Ring your local council, they'll come out and find the problem for free, the only downside is that if the problem is on your land then you'll get the bill!

[237SJ]

Thanks for your replies. Hello Builder. No, there is no manhole cover. It is draining very, very slowly and I managed to put a jar of caustic soda down it. It`s draining a bit quicker now. I`ll get some more and have another couple of attempts. It turns out there is no grid and my mother had an old cloth hanging on the garden tap that is above the drain. It mysteriously disappeared during the winter! Now she tells me. I wonder if the cloth has gone down the drain and furred up with debris from the sink. £65 per hour here for the drain people. Not like Devon, is it?

[The Builder]

No access? ................ I'll bet it's under the patio :o(
Bound to be the cloth too....... usual culprits are J-cloths and disposable nappies!

Ok .......... you could try a rubber sink plunger, but it's probably too small.
I've resorted to this before ............. you may not want to, but ........ I've started, so I'll finish lol
Take something like a broomhandle, put some rags (a good handful) into the bottom of a strong refuse bag, stick the handle in right to the bottom, tie or tape the bag around the handle, use it as a mega-plunger................
You'll have to guage the amount of rag to get a tight-ish fit..........
Get a good action going ................. ooo-er ............... it should do it :o)

[237SJ]

Good action with a broomhandle? Are you trying to get me banned from here? LOL
I tried prodding with a metal rod Builder, but there is a bend so it wouldn`t go very far. As mentioned a hose might do it, or a bent wire coathanger.

[catgullyarha]

First of all you will have to get down with a long rubber glove on one hand and see if there is any obstruction as far as you can reach. clear out any stuff that may be collected in the bottom. You probably wont be able to get over the trap unless you have some sort of bendy rod. What i would do is go to your nearest manhole where the sink water drains to and see if that one is blocked, if it isn't then you can rod it from there. if it is blocked then you'll have to go to the next manhole in-line and try that one until you find the one that isn't blocked.Hope this will help. I'd come and do it for you if you're anywhere up near Cromer.
As you say beware of ripoffs.

[237SJ]

Thank you. That is very kind of you but I`m a little way from Cromer. I`m away working now for a few days so I`ll have a proper bash at it next week. I was going to go for a nice walk in Bushy Park today and ended up spending the afternoon with my hand down a drain! :-)

[tamborine]

Pull out the wire from net curtains and work it down the drain to loosen gunge

[TonyV]

if you have or if you if can bale some of the water out of the drain - it's most probably fat - put some more soda crystals down followed by a couple of kettle fulls of boiling water

[AlBags]

Drain rods going to be out soon by the sound of things!

[flitty]

I recentley had the same problem. Apart from putting your hand down, or putting a high pressure hose down I shifted it by using a mop and plunging it up and down in the grid as a plunger and it cleared it .

[AlBags]

^ very lucky.

Sometimes a floppy hose with water on does the trick if you can get it around the gully bend.